Huhtamaki is supporting the "Allegra Strategies UK Coffee Leader Summit 2009", a day of thought provoking debate and networking opportunities which is sure to develop delegate's existing knowledge and ideas of the UK coffee shop sector.

The AVA has organised the first in a series of training courses for vending engineers at N&W Global, on Friday 15th May 2009. This first course is focused on drink vending's principal raw material - water. The course ensures that engineers have an in-depth knowledge of issues such as drink quality, scale, water regulations and microbiology, making sure the service they offer to vending specifiers can continue to increase in quality.

Chester's funky DEE 106.3 radio teamed up with local bakery P A Davies and California raisins to help publicise California Raisins £1,000 holiday to the United States last month.

UK soft drinks company AG Barr posts a 14.4% increase in FY2008 sales to £169.7m, with an 8% rise in sales of its flagship Irn-Bru brand.

Mars Inc, and the Rainforest Alliance have unwrapped ambitious new goals in their ongoing campaign to help cocoa farmers get on the path towards sustainability.

PepsiCo is to trial a new all-natural refrigeration system in its Pepsi-Cola vending machines in Washington DC, according to FoodWeek Online.

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki is showing its support to this year's BEV-E Awards by sponsoring the ‘Coffee Cart/Mobile' sector.

Gatorade is to a launch a classic British flavour exclusively to the UK - blackcurrant. New blackcurrant flavour Gatorade will contain no artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners and no preservatives, in line with the rest of Gatorade's UK soft drinks portfolio.

Mars Drinks has launched a new revitalisation and modernisation project to improve conditions for over 1,700 farms based at the Kandara Farmers Cooperative in Kenya.

Kraft Foods has launched an exciting and unique new chocolate biscuit snack specially designed for on-the-go snacking. Perfect for vending, Mikado is a sweet treat which offers consumers a great alternative to standard countlines which have tended to dominate vending.

Caffè Culture is delighted to announce its continued support for Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning following a successful launch of the partnership in 2008, which helped the event to raise a staggering £7.7 million. Macmillan will again be present at the show, which takes place on the 20 and 21 May at Olympia, London, with a clear message for all visitors - coffee morning is good for business.

After 130 years, world-famous rugby region, the Scarlets left their famous Stradey Park ground and moved to a new home, Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli. This new, high tech 15,000 seat stadium has cost over £23m to build and was 14 months in construction. The budget for catering equipment alone amounted to half a million pounds and Space Catering, one of the UK's leading specialists in catering solutions, won the contract to design, supply and install the entire catering infrastructure. In turn, Space Catering appointed Marco Beverage Systems to provide the beverage equipment.

Cadbury Wispa is back on TV with a series of 10-second TV ads based on the "For the Love of Wispa" campaign.

The European Vending Association has created "The 24/7 blog" (www.vending-europe.eu/en/blog.html) and a Linkedin group, "The Vending Group" (www.linkedin.com).

Lavazza, Italy's favourite coffee, will once again be showcasing its extensive range of office coffee systems and vending solutions at AVEX 2009. The AVEX exhibition is one of the key events in the vending industry, providing a unique opportunity to see the latest innovations, products and technology that can add real value to businesses.

Nestlé Professional® Beverage Dispense Solutions returns to this year's AVEX with an exceptional range of mainstream and cafe style vending and table-top solutions on Stand D60.

3M, the diversified technology company, will be showing its ScaleGard Pro and AP range of disposable filter systems at AVEX on stand A56.

At AVEX 2009, see how Trafficmaster, the expert in intelligent driving with its unique combination of live traffic information, route guidance and 24/7 access to Smartnav Personal Assistants, is helping companies improve business performance by using our Fleet Director fleet management system to save drivers' time, reduce fuel costs and improve productivity while still reducing environmental impact. Fleet Director provides managers with complete control over their vehicles, improving business efficiency and supporting Duty of Care responsibilities. It has been proven to cut fuel costs by 30%; improve productivity by 12% and reduce overtime by 15%. Come to stand P56 to find out more.

AstroSystems Ltd., the European division of currency validation specialist Astrosys International Ltd, is targeting the forthcoming AVEX 2009 exhibition as another opportunity to further promote its GBA ST1 banknote validator. Specifically developed for the vending and kiosk industries, the product has become a market leader with both manufacturers and operators.

Rarely do people look at a vending cup and appreciate its finer qualities. The innovation behind design and the lengths to which they've been developed, tried and tested are all but forgotten once they fill the machines. Why should we think about 3D CAD design, four layer thermo-forming and precise rim rolling as we sip tentatively at our beverage? The simple answer is to thank our lucky stars we don't have to! That doesn't mean we can't appreciate what goes into it though.

Aimia Foods, the independent supplier of hot and cold beverages, has announced its plans for the industry's leading vending and water exhibition, AVEX.

The Kenco Coffee Company, together with its parent company Kraft Foods, has been working in the area of sustainability for over 15 years. Kraft includes sustainability as a business strategy, meaning that the company is continually improving its efforts throughout its entire system - from farm to fork.

UCA, an alliance formed between Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, is rolling out PoP, a vending machine for the 21st century that is set to change the face of entertainment retail.

Back in 1999, John Burnett identified a ‘phenomenal' rise in the number of soft drinks consumed in the UK in the 30 years before his ground breaking study, Liquid Pleasures - A social History of Drinks in Modern Britain, hit all good book shelves. Although many commercial sugar-based beverages were first developed around the mid-to late nineteenth century, it was not until the 1960s and the initial mass popularity of Coca Cola that cold, non-alcoholic, bottled drinks really took hold. By 1995 around 20% of all drinks bought in this country were soft drinks, he said. Not bad for a nation of confirmed tea lovers. This, according to Burnett, represented a ‘cold drinks revolution' comparable to the ‘hot beverages revolution' of the late 17th century when Britain first began importing tea.

Thirsty Planet water is a high quality spring water brand dedicated to bringing clean water to millions of people in sub Saharan Africa by working together with the charity Pump Aid.

The Cereal Pouch is introducing a new concept in healthy, natural, fat-free fast  foods that will attract a whole new consumer demographic to your vending machines. The Cereal Pouch offers milk and cereal together in one convenient attractive package.

A new campaign to get Britain happier along with its charity has been launched with SUSO, the new better for you soft drink (100% Fruit Juice - Carbonated), as its first sponsor.

UK subsidiary of Leading European vending machine manufacturer, Jofemar UK, has announced the launch of a new, updated version of the Company's best-selling merchandiser, the Vision. Launched three years ago to great critical acclaim, the Vision was one of the first merchandisers on the market to use ‘elevator delivery' technology. Jofemar has since gone on to patent its system under the brand names, SmartVend® and EasyFlex®

Selecta understands the importance of offering consumers great coffee and choice. With their passion for coffee, fresh ideas and knowledge of consumers' expectations, Selecta created miofino, a high quality, great tasting range of coffee with innovative delivery for the ultimate coffee experience. Once you've tried it, miofino will change the way you perceive coffee from vending machines.

With over 400 billion cups of coffee consumed every year, the hectic demands of modern life are what make coffee breaks so special. What's more, with the advent of Bean to Cup machines being sold into a wider range of settings, consumers can now enjoy café class coffee in any location.

The Coffeemar G-500 offers bean-to-cup fresh brew coffee together with a selection of soluble ingredients, or it may be specified as instant-only. It is manufactured in northern Spain by Jofemar and distributed in the UK by its subsidiary, Jofemar UK, which is also known for its food vending machines, payment systems and cigarette machines.

Packaging manufacturer Huhtamaki has revamped its hugely successful Specialty cup design to give it a fresh NEW look!

Caffè Culture, the industry's leading event, has announced its seminar programme for 2009 (20 & 21 May). Continuing to offer over 200 first-class international exhibitors, providing thousands of products and services specifically designed to meet the needs of the UK's coffee bar industry, this year's event will also provide an invaluable resource for owners and managers of cafés and coffee bars who need additional business support in the current economic climate.

The portable Advanta Thermos coffee container, now available from Bravilor Bonamat, makes easy work of serving coffee wherever you need it.

EurOps© 2009 took place at the Concorde Hotel in Berlin on the 26th and 27th March. In spite of tough economic times, the European Vending Association, organiser of the event, was pleased with the turnout, which gathered more than 150 participants. The participants, representing the whole industry, included ingredient suppliers, machine manufacturers and, of course, operators. Participants were also very satisfied with the conference, which has enabled them to meet and discuss with fellow colleagues about the vending industry in these particular times.